UNIVERSAL
by Iland Girl
Summary: I've always been running from life, but it's got these tricky ways of catching you, teaching you things you wish it wouldn't. Who would've thought I'd be standing here, with you, after all this chaos. Screw fate and it's followers, I chose you because, as cheesy as it sounds, love is Universal. There is nothing that would've, could've, kept me away from you. Astral x OC x Kite
1. Chapter 1

ENJOY!

* * *

**_~UNIVERSAL_**~

* * *

_"Slip Through Time"_

_Kite x OC x Astral_

_Yu-gi-oh __© Kazuki Takahashi_

_Universal __© Sokuryokudo Kyoutendouchi_

* * *

_~Opening Theme~_

"_Blue Bird__- Ikimono Gakari_"_  
_

* * *

___**CHAPTER 1  
**_

___"Fall Through The Cracks"  
_

* * *

"I don't think I can do this Kai, It's just not doable by normal people!"

"Good thing you're not normal." Kai snickered as he pushed me inside the store. I clawed at the entrance, fearful of being tainted by the inside contents.

"But Kai! I can't do it! This is too much!"

Kai rolled his eyes at me before grabbing my wrists and dragging me in. I kicked and screamed all the way to the chair where he pulled off his belt and tied me to it. The man who worked at the store looked at the two of us with concern.

"She needs a trim, her hair is awful as it is." Kai said casually as I held my long hair in my hands with tears rolling down my face.

"Goodbye darling hair! The evil brother wishes to destroy you!" I whimpered as I brushed the browns, blonds, blacks, oranges and reds through my fingers as the Hairstylist slowly closed in on me. Washing my hair was one thing, but when he came at me with the scissors, Kai had to hold me down as I screamed.

"YOU EVIL MURDERS!"

"Honestly Riri, it wasn't that big of a deal." Kai muttered as we walked down the street, I pouting as I felt my now shoulder blade length hair. It used to travel all the way down my back to my knees!

"Yes it is! I've never gotten a hair cut before and never planned to have one!" I pouted, making Kai sigh out loud.

"You take on an evil spirit, help save the world from destruction, find out you have ties with an ancient Pharaoh, all without crying once and yet you bawl like a baby over a haircut?"

I rolled my eyes and looked to at the clouds. Sometimes I wondered if all of that really happened, if I had really made and lost a friend in a matter of months. Sometimes I wished I had never moved to Domino, other times I'm glad I did. If meeting Atem meant having all this havoc, I would gladly do it again.

"That all felt surreal, besides a lot of good things came from it." I mummbled.

Looking to my left, I smiled a bit when I saw two familiar faces crossing the street hand in hand.

"Then again, it's hard to believe it really happened."

Shortly after Atem passed on, Yugi grew restless. He ran off and out of Domino, telling me he'd try to keep in touch as he scaled through the world of Duel Monsters. I wished him the best before giving him a piece of the Millennium Puzzle that the Pharaoh had left to me. He gave me some cards before taking off. Shortly after him, Joey came a National Champion, and with new cards coming, he handed me off some of his old cards too before he and Tea began to date, and the next thing I know Joey was only dueling for fun now.

So much changed to fast, I was starting to wonder if those adventures really happened, but then again, I did have two lifetimes of memories inside of me, I was bound to feel upset by change.

The rest of the day with my brother was spent like any sixteen year old would spend it. Sleeping, dueling, and over all eating junk food and lazing about. I was never one for being social, or caring about looks, but I felt a little...weird with such short hair. I'd never had a light headed feeling last all day, and it creeped me out.

The night though, is when everything changed.

I had finally gotten to sleep, which isn't usually hard but I had felt tense before going to bed. There was a strange dream rolling through my head, and immediately I knew why I was tense.

_He stared at me with those dark wicked eyes, his devilish smirk evident as he tried to come closer. I was trembling as his long white hair billowed in the wind and fog that swept around us. _

_It was him.  
_

_The monster that caused all of this.  
_

_Bakura.  
_

_I turned and tried to run away, and for a split second I was semi-happy my hair was short, any longer and he would've caught me. My feet trampled the ground as I ran, something told me fighting wasn't an option this time, and my gut had never been wrong. Through the darkness and the fog, a figure appeared in front of me, and before I could stop I crashed right into his chest. Bakura grinned wickedly as he glared down at me.  
_

_"Bakura." I growled, trying to get away. He let go, but I fell to the ground.  
_

_"Did you really think the Pharaoh could save you? How can he, when part of my very soul is inside_ you_?"_

_My heart almost stopped beating at that, so no matter where I ran or what I did, he would always follow? Bakura closed the gap and stomped on my gut. I growled, refusing to show pain as I gripped his foot and tried to fight back.  
_

_"There is something I need from you, Little Bird." He then reached down and grabbed my throat. While both my hands tried to pry his away, his other hand went to my chest.  
_

_"No!" I choked out as I heard bindings snap. It was as if the whole world had broken down as I stared at the object in his hands.  
_

_The flat pyramid design with the millennium eye engraved in the middle, as the pendant twirled I could see the back was written in Hieratics.  
_

_'**The Door to Light**.'  
_

_"With this I can capture to Pharaoh and bring myself back from the shadow realm."  
_

_He tossed me to the ground and grinned wickedly. I gasped as the Millennium Ring appeared, and Bakura began to pushed the small triangle into the Ring's center. _

_"Now to go back in time and destroyed that miserable Pharaoh!"  
_

_Destroy? As in, no longer exists?  
_

_Never!  
_

_"Not on my watch!" I shouted, leaping at him. He crashed to the ground with me on top of him, the triangle and ring both falling out of his hands. They landed together, and a light shone brightly. Bakura growled at me before trying to throw me off, but I leapt at the necklace and went to grab it.  
_

_"You little wench! I'll kill you!" But his voice was drowned out as the light overtook me.  
_

_"_Where would you like to go?_" A voice called, a smooth one that sounded kind and warm. Bakura leaped at me, and in a panic I shouted.  
_

_"Anywhere!"  
_

_"_Wish granted_."_

* * *

_Ending Theme Song_

_"The World Calling"- __There For Tomorrow__  
_

* * *

Hi...

So IDK how this story will play out, if it will play out, but I figured I needed to take a step back from one of my serious Naruto stories for a while, and just play around with a different show. Zexal was recently discovered on a babysitting expedition, and since then I've been hooked on Kite and Astral, they're both really cool characters.

Now I'm not sure what you guys are used to, but I tend to try to keep lovey doveyness to about at least half way through the story. Flirting and sexual jokes will definitely be in galore since Raikari is, well, a closet perv in some natures, combine it with Astral's naivety of humans and well...somebody's gunna have a lot of fun.

So this chapter will only kick off if you guys review it! I'm very big on reviews, and if you give me a long one Hell I might through in a scene request here and there for lucky reviewers! So please leave a review and I'll gladly post the next chapter. It's ready and waiting guys!

Oh yeah, since this is only a side project for me, don't expect too too much drama or heartbreak ;P (I'm a fan of writing that) but do expect ALOT of immaturity!

_Cheers!_

~Kiwi-chan~


	2. Chapter 2

ENJOY!

* * *

**_~UNIVERSAL_**~

* * *

_"Slip Through Time"_

_Kite x OC x Astral_

_Yu-gi-oh __© Kazuki Takahashi_

_Universal __© Sokuryokudo Kyoutendouchi_

* * *

_~Opening Theme~_

"_Blue Bird__- Ikimono Gakari_"_  
_

* * *

___**CHAPTER 2  
**_

___"Psychologically Imported"  
_

* * *

_The fog disappeared a while ago, so did Bakura's shouts of anger._

_The place I was in now was nothing like before. I felt no fear, no sadness or worry that I was lost. It was like everything, even just for a moment, melted away inside of me._

_Is this what it was like, to be dead?_

_Peaceful?_

_A light flashed across my lids then, and I opened my eyes. Colors swirled around, closing in and combining in some places. I could see lights floating around, was this outer space? I had never seen a place with so many colors and so much brightness. For a second, I closed my eyes, and relaxed as I floated on the spot._

_Then the screams began._

_Opening my eyes, I saw multiple explosions. It were as though this world was being attacked, bombs exploding everywhere. I could hear the cries of thousands-no- millions. They were begging for help, any help would do. My heart lurched as I heard the higher pitches, children screaming. What was going on? How can I help these people?_

_Just like it came, I blinked, and everything vanished. I was back in the black abyss, not a sound coming into my ears. That strange calmness floating over me again._

_"Girl," A voice whispered, the same smooth one from before. "Will you save them?"_

_"How?"_

_"Find the **Key**, find **Victory**."_

_Oh shit, who turned the gravity back on?_

_Just as those words were said, a strange light enclosed me, and I was falling at break neck speed._

* * *

"I swear to God, this better be the last stop..." I muttered angrily. My entire backside hurt as I opened my orbs to see the matching sky. A very bright and light blue, not a cloud out today. Had this been any other day, I would've opted to go to the beach.

"Mmmm, where the Hell am I?" I muttered as I looked around. A few cars were parked around me, the white lines designating parking spots here and there. So I'm at the top of a parking lot huh?

"Yuma! Have you lost it or something?!" I heard somebody shout. My head kind of hurt, so it sounded extra loud. I tried to stand up, and eventually got to the edge and looked down.

"Can't you see the walking flashlight?! He's kind of hard to miss!" This kid was shouting down below, and the person next to him must've said something because he turned to complain to him, what he said next interested me.

"You shut up too! I'm trying to win a duel here!"

This confused me though, because as far as I could see, neither he nor the guy across the way from him had any holograms in front of them. What kind of duel is this? Old maid? Horse shoes? Yet the funky duel disk on his arm proved to be one for Duel Monsters. I noticed a few kids watching them, and figured the only was to get answers was to ask the right questions.

I slowly made my way down the parkade, and even managed to doing so without wiping the floor with my face as I did so. Not bad for having a massive headache if I do say so myself!

"Do as you say! As if!" That kid who was dueling was having a meltdown, two of the bystanders from before were trying to calm him down. It looked like the duel had ended since the other guy had disappeared. I walked over to them, raising a brow at their uniforms. I didn't recognize them as ones from Domino Public High or, frankly, anywhere for that matter, but they were all wearing one.

"Uh, excuse me?" I asked, making the loud one spin around and glare at me.

"What do you want now?!" He shouted to the...wait is this guy floating? Was he a duel spirit? If so, I couldn't recognize him from any cards. Anyway, when he realized it wasn't the floating guy talking, but rather me, he straightened up a bit and scratched the back of his head.

"Oh eheheh, sorry lady." Before I could comment, the other male, a much larger one, smacked the loud one on the head and frowned.

"Yuma! You don't talk to girls that way! Pardon me Miss, what is it that ya need?" He asked, but from the way the girl next to him was acting, he was trying to flirt with me. I smiled nonetheless with as much kindness as one can muster with a huge headache.

"Well I was wondering if you could tell me where I am," I paused for half a second, before adding to make sure I didn't sound too crazy. "I hit my head going down some stairs, and well my brain's kind of mushy from that."

"You're in Heartland City, are you alright Miss?" The girl asked. I scratched my head and sighed.

"Well, maybe, I've got this huge headache now, but it's alright, well actually no it's not, I don't recall ever being to a Heartland City before, are you guys yanking my chain now?"

"Yanking her chain? But she does not have a chain Yuma." The glowing creature said to the smallest boy, who rolled his eyes at him.

"It's a figure of speech!" He muttered, before turning to me. "Well maybe you've got amnemia," I think he meant 'Amnesia'. "What's the last thing you can remember? Where do you live?"

The last thing I remember is falling from the sky after seeing a strange planet being attacked. Yup, no way I can say that without being sent to the looney bin first class. I bit my lip and drug my toe in the dirt to stall. C'mon Riri! Think hard! What was the last thing _normal_ that you remember?

"Well, I was...at home, with my older Brother, and we were dueling and eating junk food, and then well, I woke up in that parkade..." I sighed before smacking my face. "That doesn't make any sense, does it?"

"It's okay Miss, can you remember your house number? Maybe the name too?"

"Mmmm 54th Street West, Domino City." I said smoothly, but Yuma seemed to think it was hilarious.

"Okay, I think this prank's gone too far Lady." Yuma said, but before I could say anything, the three were huddled with the Blue Lantern hovering around them in curiosity.

"Yuma!" The girl scolded.

"What Tori? I doubt that she's telling the truth now! Nobody's that clueless!"

"Coming from Yuma, that's serious." The guy said. Tori frowned at him.

"Bronk, this is no time to joke! Maybe we should take her to the hospital!"

"Um, guys? Care to clue me in on what's so funny?"

They all turned back to me, and that loud mouthed Yuma opened the yapper once again.

"Alright, look I don't know where you really live or what your game is, but that address you said, it's my house."

...What?

"Yeah, and Domino City was renamed Heartland City like half a century ago." Bronk added in.

...

"WHAT?!"

So wait, if Domino City was renamed at least half a century ago, then how am I here right now?

Oh my God, not again! Time traveling?! Really?! I was so much better off in my time frame! So wait, if it's been over half a century I've been gone, is anybody I know even alive? That last one struck, I mean, who knows what happened while I was hidden away. All my friends and family, all gone. Yugi, Joey, Kai, Rizt, all gone?

"Hey Miss, don't cry! Yuma! You made her cry!" I caught myself the moment Tori said that and wiped all of my tears away.

"Excuse me, and s-sorry for the trouble!" I said before running off again. My tears flowed smoothly as I ran through this strange world. People having battles without holograms, these strange robots walking around and cleaning the city, the list went on of how many things had changed. Part of me was impressed, the city looked cleaner, but part of me knew technology produced waste, and waste had to go somewhere.

I ended up trying to follow the streets, trying to find my house. Maybe this was them pranking me, maybe I just hit my head really hard and there wasn't a big heart on a tower where Kaiba Corp used to be. I managed to find my house, only it wasn't my house anymore.

Looking around, I had to take everything back, this place wasn't pretty anymore, it was tacky with way to many pastels and not enough undertones and the freaking place was glowing despite it being nearly dark. This had to be a dream, I had to have eaten something nasty or fell off my bunk! I sighed before sitting down on the sidewalk, wincing slightly when I sat on my phone.

...

My phone!

Digging into my pocket, I grabbed said device and flipped it open...

No service.

So what? I'm just in a- in a dead zone!

Even if I have 100% coverage of all Japan...you can still get No Service...right?

I hung my head and sighed, before curling up and trying my best not to cry. What kind of bullshit is this, pulling some teenager into the future to save a planet? This was Yugi's role, not mine.

"Hey Miss."

I looked up to see that Yuma kid standing there, just his Blue Lantern buddy floating next to him this time.

"Look, since it's just you and Blue Lantern over there I doubt you guys have room to judge me, so here it goes-"

"Wait, you can see him?"

"I'm talking you idiot!" I shouted, before saying in a calmer tone. "And yeah, of course I can, but it's not like I'm the first am I?" The look he gave me told me no.

"Hmph, I see, well nice to meet you Mister Lantern." Yuma snickered as the blue male looked to me.

"Astral is my name, what is yours?"

"Raikari, Raikari Suo. It's a pleasure to meet you, are you a Duel Monster Spirit Mister Astral?" I asked, to which Yuma looked between the two of us.

"I am not, though I am curious as to how you can see me and others can't-"

"Hey! Don't get all friendly with him!" Yuma shouted as he leaped between us and waved his hands around. I rolled my eyes but ultimately smiled at the kid.

"Look, I came here from a time when Domino City existed, probably around sixty or more years judging by your technology you guys have."

"So what you are saying is that you somehow managed to Time Travel?" Astral asked, to which I nodded.

"Believe me Mister, I want nothing more than to be in my own time frame with my family and friends." It was then that a plan formulated in my head. "But I'm here, so until I find out how to get back, I need to find a place to stay." Oh yeah, here comes the ringer. I stood up and shrugged, trying to hide my smirk. "And in my time and era, a person that insults you must offer you shelter until you can fend for yourself. Oh good heavens, did you insult me when we first met, Mister Yuma?"

Unfortunately, this kid wasn't quite as dumb as he looked, and despite survival mode kicking in for me, I was having a hard time not smirking.

"Hey! That's a lie!"

"Yuma, it is not polite to stomp on one's tradition." Astral said smoothly, and I nearly laughed at how naive this blue boy was. Yuma turned to him and glared.

"That's not a real tradition! She's just making it up!"

"Oh but I'm not, for where I come from insulting somebody in the palace means death." I slung an arm around his shoulders and smirked. "So Yuma, which shall it be?"

Yuma glared back, but ultimately caved right there.

"Alright, if you beat me in a duel that is."

"Why is it everytime I need something it results in a duel?" I muttered to myself. "Okay, you've got my word. If I beat you, then I get shelter over my poor head, and if I lose, I'll scram." Fishing out my deck, I got an even better idea.

"Better yet, I win, I get free rent for however long my stay is," Then I held out my deck to him and smirked. "But if I lose, I'll hand over my entire deck."

"Alright! Classic cards to add! Sweet! You're on!" He then did this weird thing, throwing this half of some sort of glasses on, before opening up his tacky duel disk. He noticed I hadn't done anything, and then it dawned on me.

"Oh, about that, I...don't have a duel disk or headset thingy so..." I ran past him and into the house. "Guess we'll have to postpone the match for later!"

* * *

_Ending Theme Song_

_"The World Calling"- __There For Tomorrow__  
_

* * *

Wow reviews already? Not much to say on this chapter! Oh, the installments will get longer, but the intro is being broken up so nobody loses their marbles! Hahaha, thanks for the reviews! Hope I get more soon!

_Cheers!_

~Kiwi-chan~


	3. Chapter 3

ENJOY!

* * *

**_~UNIVERSAL_**~

* * *

_"Slip Through Time"_

_Kite x OC x Astral_

_Yu-gi-oh __© Kazuki Takahashi_

_Universal __© Sokuryokudo Kyoutendouchi_

* * *

_~Opening Theme~_

"_Blue Bird__- Ikimono Gakari_"_  
_

* * *

___**CHAPTER 3  
**_

___"The First Draw"  
_

* * *

"Wow, Pokemon hasn't really changed that much, just a lot more breeds of Pokemon." I muttered while lounging on the couch. Kari, the older sister, didn't seem too fond of me (I didn't blame her) as she typed away on her keyboard, but the Grandma seemed to adore me quite a bit.

Originally I didn't know what kind of family he was living with, so I decided to play the 'I'm a friend of his that lost all her money and has no family' card. It wouldn't been a cake walk, but then Yuma broke out- 'She's some half century old demon that is haunting me!' and from there everything went downhill.

Kari seemed extra suspicious about me, whether I was a crackpot or not. However, Haru Tsukumo was a whole different experience.

_"Tell me Raikari," She said as we all sat down for dinner, I noted Astral had not been spoken to at all, I guess absolutely nobody could see him, huh? "Did you know the Legendary King of Games?" _

_I nearly choked on my food at that, before swallowing and adding some water to the mix. After calming down, I smiled a little bit at the memory of Atem and Yugi. Those two didn't always see eye to eye, but they were an amazing team. The whole table quieted down, and I looked up to see everybody staring at me. I turned a little bit red and laughed slightly. _

_"Riri for short Miss Haru, and uh, well yeah. I did, actually I went to school with him and knew him since we were little kids." This time Yuma had a heart attack before leaping at me from his seat. _

_"**You** actually knew the King of Games?!" _

_"Now now Yuma! Don't be rude! Now Riri, was this Yugi as handsome as I remember him being?" When she said that, small little Yugi came to mind, and my face turned red as I tried to hold in some laughter. _

_"He was now! Oh I could remember him, tall dark and handsome-" _

_At that last phrase, I burst like a bubble and the laughter took over the room. By the time I quieted down, I knew I had an explanation. _

_"Yugi wasn't always tall, he was actually really short when I...when I, last saw him...he reminded me more of a...a cuddly panda bear... As for handsome, well, that spot was taken by Ate-mm," I shut my mouth, and bit my lip before looking down at my plate. "That spot was taken my one of my...late friends." _

_The room felt hot suddenly. _

_"What about Seto Kaiba? Was he really the Leader of Tomorrow everybody called him?" Haru seemed to understand my frazzle, and fished me out before I drowned. I snorted at that, before leaping back into conversation. _

_"Let me tell you, I have a list that could wrap around the world **twice **about 'Every Reason I Hate Seto Kaiba'. Number one is..."_

From then on everything went smoothly, Haru even asked me to map out the house as it used to be. As luck may have it, my room was the spare bedroom, and I never felt more at home in my whole stay of the future. I knew it could never be my home, but whats a little imagination going to hurt?

Haru walked into the living room and noticed me sitting there, and gave me a look. I looked back, not sure what to say.

"Riri, aren't you supposed to be at school?" I nearly laughed at her for saying this.

"Haru, I don't go to school, even when I was in my era I didn't." I said with a smile, but from the sinisterly sweet look on her face, I doubt that was a good enough answer for her.

The next day I was promptly woken up at 6, and shoved into a uniform before literally being dragged by Yuma to the school.

"Where are we going?" I asked, yawning and looking over to Astral as he floated beside us. "Do you sleep? Because you look wide awake."

"I do not need rest as you do, sleep as you call it, is optional."

Wow, what a boring existence, no dreams for you then.

"Riri! Use those legs or we'll be late!"

"We won't be late as long as you run fast enough, besides, I have no idea where I'm going." I said slowly as he dragged me around the town. Yuma suddenly let go of my wrist, and I looked up in utter irony as I saw 'Heartland Public High' written across a rather familiar building. The old Domino High building really. Huh, so maybe some things hadn't changed.

I spent the rest of my day scrounging around, figuring out where to go for what, and getting a list of supplies I'd need to get. In other words my day sucked and I was hungry because I forgot a lunch. Yuma didn't come to get me right away at the Highschool, so I figured wandering around wouldn't do any harm, so I wandered around the empty halls until I came across the supply closet. It was in the same place as before, so I pulled it open and looked at the shelves inside. I nearly beamed when I noticed these were the same shelves as when I was here (man these must be ancient!) and counted three from the bottom before looking underneath it.

Ah, there it was.

Raikari Suo was here.

Joey Wheeler was here first!

I laughed slightly at that, before shaking my head. I'd give up dueling to get those days back, I missed everybody so much. After Atem left, everything just...fell a part. I flipped open my useless phone, and went to photos. There were photos of all my friends, including one of me and Atem.

My best friend for 5,000 years, I just got you back, and I lost you again, this time for good. I knelt on the floor before leaning against the wall next to the closet and sighed. Life felt pretty sucky right now, wish I could go home. I closed my eyes and tried to remember home, it was so vivid it was like I was there. Then the image of that world, and all those bombs going off erupting into my eyelids. My icy blue orbs shot open, and they calmed just before Yuma and Astral ran down the hall towards me.

"Hey, whatcha doing here?" Yuma asked, making me smile.

"Nothing," I said as I stood. "Just thinking."

"Anyway, I think you owe me a duel!" Yuma said, sounding so excited. I frowned though, and shook my head.

"Yuma, I need a duel disk, and I'm not exactly sprouting money here."

Yuma grinned though and grabbed my wrist. I and Astral followed him, albeit a little warily, outside of the High school.

Oh, that was why I was wary.

Yuma dragged me into this crowd of mini-students, all dressed in the Middle School uniform. Oh my God Yuma, what have you done now?

"Don't panic, the only way I could get Caswell to lend me his Duel Disk and an extra Duel Gazer was to make the match live!"

I sighed before smacking my head. "Ugh, Yuma, I should've known."

"I would advise not hitting your face so often, Miss Raikari, you may cause internal damage to your brain and cause it malfunction."

"Thanks for the advice." I muttered as Yuma broke into hysterical laughter.

"You are welcome." Astral said as though he had actually given me good information.

"Alright, let's get this over with. How do you set this up?"

So this other little twerp set up the Duel Disk and this thing called a Duel Gazer, showing me a virtual reality of the front of the Highschool. Man, I thought the holograms were actually pretty cool, how is this going to be good?

"Alright, since I challenged you, you go first!" Yuma called, making me sigh.

"No shit Sherlock, I draw." Looking down at my hand, I had to smirk and look back up at Yuma. "Hey, I'm gunna say this just to even the playing field, I don't mind you getting any outside help for this whole duel."

AKA-You can get Astral to help you. I have a feeling that's what was going on the last duel too. The sideline crew all looked taken aback, and I nearly jumped when a screen popped up next to me with their faces on it.

"But that's cheating!" Tori shouted, making me snicker.

"It's the only way he stands a chance," I laughed. "Anyway, the choice is yours Yuma." I looked down at my hand, before picking a few cards.

"First, I will set one card in defense position," After a little scream fest from seeing the beast litterally leap out of nowhere, I continued on. "Then I use the spell Double Summon, this let's me summon once more this turn. Next I summon Marauding Captain to the field, and guess what? His special effect is I can drag out another monster! So I'll put Warrior Lady of the Wasteland in Defense mode. Next I'll lay two cards face down and end my turn. How's that Yuma?"

"Uhhh, you lost me at First, but it's okay! I'll still mop the floor with ya! I draw!" He looked over his cards, Astral seemed to say something to him, and Yuma took a fit, it seemed to be tradition between these two now.

"I summon Gogogo Golem in attack mode! And Gogogo Golem is going to knock out your Captain!"

"Ahahaha! Not so fast Yuma, did you forget about my face downs? I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow!"

"Huh? What does that do?"

"Hm? Oh nothing, it just cancels your attack is all."

"Ohhh! Fine, I'll put a card down and end my turn."

I stared at the card for a moment, before smirking. Yuma knows that three monsters isn't good, he's probably expecting me to summon something strong, that card must be to ward off my attack somehow. I've gotta get rid of it. Drawing a card, I smirked a little bit, step one was done now.

"I play Graceful Charity, it allows me to draw three cards, and then I must discard two of them." Looking at my cards, I had to hold back another smirk as one of my favorite cards fell into my hand. I put two in the grave, before continuing.

"Alright, I switch my Captain to Defense, and then I'll set one card and end my turn."

"What?! You aren't going to attack?!" Yuma seemed pissed, but it just made me laugh. "Why bother? None of my monsters are strong enough Yuma."

"Yeah well...I draw!...Sweet! I summon Gogogo Giant in Attack mode! Next, I'll overlay my two monsters to build the overlay network! Next I'll summon Number 39! Utopia!"

I paused and tried to think this through. "I'm sorry...what?"

Yuma gave me a weird look like I was an alien. Hello, can't you see the light bulb next to you?

"What's wrong Riri?"

"What did you just do? I've never seen that before." Then I had another mini-heart attack as another screen with that Caswell kid staring at me came right beside me.

"You've never seen an Overlay summon?!"

"Uh...no?"

Tori pushed Caswell away and smiled.

"An Overlay summon is where two or more monsters are combined to create a single Duel Monster, but the overlay units used stick around and help out the new duel monster as well."

"Oh, so it's like a Fusion Summon only fancier, huh?" I muttered, and they all looked at me like I was crazy, so I waved them off. "Anyway, where were we?" I asked, and looked back at the big scary giant. "Oh yeah."

"Now Utopia! Attack Warrior Lady now!"

"Not so fast, you haven't forgotten my Scrap Iron Scarecrow, have you boys?" I said as my Scarecrow blocked Yuma's attack.

"That's cheating! You left your card on the field!" Yuma cried, making me smirk.

"Actually Yuma, this card simply returns to it's face down position until it is destroyed. That means it can protect me again and again and again from any attack you through."

"I guess I'll just have to end my turn."

"Attaboy! My draw!" I drew and looked at my hand and smirked. "Looks like I've hit a lucky streak! I play the Spell card Card of Sanctitiy! We must both remove from play all the cards in our hands, and draw two more cards." We both did so, and I looked at my hand. Perfect! Just one more piece!

"Next I play Card destruction, so we both throw our hands away again and must summon forth the same amount of cards from our decks."

Decoy Dragon! Finally!

"Alright, I set one monster in defense mode, and I'll end my turn, but before you begin yours, I'll bring back D.D. Survivor. When this card is sent to out of play, it can come back into play in attack mode at the end phase of the same turn."

"Wow you're really laying it out there Riri!" Yuma called. "Okay, I draw!" Ten seconds later. "Stop telling me what to do! I summon Zubaba Knight! Utopia! Attack her Captain again!"

"Scrape Iron! Defend!"

"Now Zubaba! Attack Warrior Lady!"

I gritted my teeth, I couldn't defend against that, but then I smirked.

"Thanks bud, I was hoping you'd do that. Because Warrior Lady's special effect allows me to summon any Earth Warrior type monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck in face up attack position. And I know just the card." I muttered, before looking through my deck and finding said card.

"Now, I summon Dream Clown in attack mode!"

Yuma actually had the nerve to laugh, but I'd have the last laugh this time.

"Oh wow, you had me worried for a moment. Ah I end my turn."

"Actually Yuma, you should be shitting bricks at this point," I said as I drew a card, the perfect card really. "Because this little clown is your worst nightmare. I activate Dream Clown's effect! When I change him from attack to defense position, I get to destroy one monster on your side of the field, and guess whose going down Yuma? That's right, Utopia!"

"Whaaat?! NO WAY! This can't be happening!"

"Oh but it gets way better Yuma, I sacrifice my Dream Clown and Summon Meteor Dragon! Now D.D. Survivor, take out his Knight so Meteor Dragon can attack his life points directly!"

"Sorry Riri, but I activate the trap card Bye Bye Damage! This saves my Zubaba Knight from being destroyed this turn! It would also cause you to have damage, but since both monsters had the same attack points, only your D.D. Survivor ain't surviving this round!"

I grimaced a little, okay no big D, just a minor set back, his Utopia is off the field now, so I don't have too much to worry about anymore.

"Fine then, I'll end my turn."

"Awesome, I'll draw!" Astral must've said somethign again, because next thing I know Yuma's being Yuma, which means being loud and shouting at Astral. I smacked my forehead and sighed.

"Yuma, instead of arguing with him, why not take Astral's advice?" Yuma looked to me like I was crazy. "He is the reason you won the last duel, right?" Yuma looked between me and Astral, before stomping on the ground.

"Stop taking his side! Argh I use Monster Reborn to bring back Utopia!" Great so the evil giant is back once again. "Next I summon Goblindbergh in attack mode! Alright, now go Goblindbergh! Attack the Marauding Captain!"

I winced as my monster was destroyed, hopefully Astral wouldn't catch I didn't use my Scrap Iron Scarecrow (because Yuma certainly wouldn't).

"Awesome! Now go Utopia! Destroy her Meteor Dragon!"

"Nah ah! I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow! Sorry, but there's no attack hitting my Dragon this turn."

"Ugh, fine then. Zubaba! Attack the face down monster on the left!"

To this I smirked, before waving my hand in the air.

"Why thank you Yuma, you activated Decoy Dragon's special effect!" Yuma took a step back, looking quite surprised I said this.

"W-What effect?"

"When my Decoy Dragon is attacked by a monster, I can summon a level 7 or higher dragon type monster from my Graveyard. The best part? You have to attack that monster! And I know just the card..." The graveyard spat out my monster, and I smirked when I saw it.

"I summon Darkblaze Dragon in attack mode!" I said, to which Yuma looked confused. He turned to talk to Astral, but the light bulb didn't say anything.

"Uh not to say you didn't bring it back in the old days, but that monster only has 1200 attack points, and my Zubaba Knight has 1600, so that was a pretty useless move."

I smirked again, and shook my head, but when his Knight attacked my Dragon, I knew I had just gotten a very big advantage.

"Hey! What happened to my Knight? Why'd it disappear?!"

"Because Yuma, when Darkblaze is special summoned from the Graveyard, it's attack and defense points are doubled!"

Yuma smacked his own head this time, making me smirk and laugh a little.

"Oh, and did I forget to mention, when Darkblaze destroys a monster on the field, the owner of the monster takes damage equal to the monsters attack points?"

"WHAT?! I just lost 2400 life points?!" This made me laugh and nod.

"Well, I guess it's my draw," The card I drew didn't matter though, because his Goblindbergh was still in attack mode and he couldn't do squat about it. "Sorry Yuma, but this ends here. Go Darkblaze! Attack his Goblinbergh!"

"I activate Utopia's special effect! By using one Overlay unit I can negate your attack!"

What? Since when can he do that?! Ugh, this sucks.

"Alright, I'll switch Meteor Dragon to Defense and end my turn."

He said he used an Overlay unit to do that move, Overlay units counted by the amount of Monsters needed to summon the monster. Utopia needed two monsters to be summoned, which means he can only dodge the attack one more time and he's done for. Looking at my hand, I really did just need one more card to win the duel. I could use Summoned Skull, but that wouldn't make that much of a difference because they'd be the same attack strength. Then again, I could always...

"Alright Utopia! Destroy her Darkblaze!"

"Nice try Yuma, but Scrap Iron will block it again."

Yuma growled before stomping around.

"Uhhh! Why do you have all these cool cards?!"

"Because I'm old, the elderly get respect Mister." I teased, but Yuma didn't take it very well.

"Uh! Fine I'll switch Goblindbergh to defense and end my turn!"

I drew a card, a little shocked at what I drew, but quickly played it over.

"I'll end my turn."

"Fine, I draw! Awesome! I summon Gagaga Girl in attack mode! Next I activate the Spell Card Wonder Wand! This gives my Gagaga Girl a bonus 500 attack points! Now go Gagaga Girl! Attack the face down card!"

The Girl jumped across to my hidden Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and if not for that wand, my Celtic Guardian would've outclass his Girl by 200 points, however now she outclassed me by 300 points! Thsi was just the moment I had been waiting for.

"Yeah that monster is as good as g-g-g-gone!" Yuma shouted happily, but I smirked.

"I activate The Reliable Guardian! It allows me to increase one monster's defense by 700 points until the end of this turn! Which means you take 400 points of damage."

While I was sitting at 4000 still, Yuma was scratching by with 1200, I refused to let my guard down though, that has always been my downfall.

"Ugh! Fine then! Utopia! Attack Decoy Dragon!"

"I use Scrap Iron to block the attack!" I called, but Yuma wasn't finished.

"Heh, I'll bet you don't have anymore Dragons in your graveyard! Let's see if I'm right! Go Goblinbergh! Attack Decoy Dragon!"

"Keh, you're a moron. I used Scrap Iron because your monster is too strong! Now, let me show you what has been waiting in slumber! I activate Decoy Dragon's effect! I summon forth Tyrant Dragon!"

"Whoa! That thing's got 2900 attack points!" Yuma cried, making me smirk.

"You bet Yuma, and your Goblin is forced to attack!"

His Goblin his Tyrant Dragon, and the poor thing didn't stand a chance. That brought Yuma's life points down to zero, making me the victor. The screen flashed with my face and the word 'WINNER' underneath, and I sighed before collecting my cards.  
Yuma and Astral made their way over to me, Yuma grinning.

"Whoa! That's such a cool deck! I've never seen some of those monsters before!" Yuma said, still with a spring in his step. I smiled and scratched my cheek while grinning.

"Well, that's what you get when you travel half a century, heh, I'll bet hardly anybody knows what half of these cards are." I said, and for some reason, Yuma looked a little down all of a sudden.

"Still, I wish I could've won, showing you up would've made my day." He said with a slight pout, oh what did he want?

"Okay, how about I show you my super special ultra rare card? There's only one in all of it's existence!"

Well, that sure got him going again as the sideliners rushed over to us.

"What's going on?! What cool card?!" Caswell shouted, and I sighed before fishing in my back pocket for it. Pulling it out of the carrying case it was in, I showed the world the almighty Dragon in all it's beauty.

"This, children, is Slifer The Sky Dragon. It is the most valuable and beloved treasure I've got in card form. There's only one in the entire world." I said, smiling down at the card. Tori looked up to me with a furrowed brow.

"Hang on, why didn't you use this against Yuma?" Then the squirt piped in.

"Yeah! I'd totally loved to see it in action! If I kicked it's butt, I'd be legendary!" Yuma shouted. Astral floated around to see the card.

"The only thing Legendary about you is your stubborn attitude." Astral said calmly, and I found it hard not to laugh.

"Well, actually," I began as I shut the holding case and put the card back in my back pocket. "If I used this card, nobody would win against me. Slifer is so powerful, I'm actually scared to use it on friends." I said, winking at Yuma. He grinned back at me, seemingly understanding my obvious hint.

Yuma is my friend, he better remember that.

"Alright," I began. "Whose up for ice cream?!" I called, instantly everybody started shouting, so I grinned before beginning to run off as I shouted.

"Last one to the shop buys!"

There was the nerve wracking chorus of elephants stampeding towards me as I dove around corners and through alley ways, trying to find an ice cream shop.

Ah, this is the life.

* * *

_Ending Theme Song_

_"The World Calling"- __There For Tomorrow__  
_

* * *

Not much to say, you guys better review!

Okay so that's it for the test chapters, I need X number of reviews to know if it's worth writing people! Please review!

_Cheers!_

~Kiwi-chan~


	4. Chapter 4

ENJOY!

* * *

**_~UNIVERSAL_**~

* * *

_"Slip Through Time"_

_Kite x OC x Astral_

_Yu-gi-oh __© Kazuki Takahashi_

_Universal __© Sokuryokudo Kyoutendouchi_

* * *

_~Opening Theme~_

"_Blue Bird__- Ikimono Gakari_"_  
_

* * *

___**CHAPTER 4  
**_

___"A Moonless Night"  
_

* * *

This city gave me the creeps.

I mean, who actually calls a real live city Heartland? It's sounds like one of those kinds of places where they act all kind and nice...then strap you to the table and start zapping you until you're brain washed.

Really, such a classy way to kick things off.

I thought about getting home, but first I was actually curious as to how much money was in my bank account at this point. When I entered, the woman behind the glass seemed to _know_ I was one of those awkward customers. The way she stared me down, I knew this wasn't going down smoothly.

"How may I help you?" She asked, and I scratched the back of my neck as I made a horrible attempt at laughing softly. It sounded more like a disgruntled piglet if you ask me.

"Well, see I haven't opened my bank account in like, a long time, so could I maybe get a new card or something and, y'know, get out of here quickly?"

The woman sighed, before clicking on some super fancy computer. A screen popped literally out of nowhere in front of me, making me jump and the woman eye me some more.

"Just fill out this information, and I can process it Ma'am." She said in this smooth voice, but I knew it was dripping with acid.

Okay, I can fill it out, no big D. So I filled out the screen, and then it disappeared. In a matter of seconds filled with incessant clicking, I was now giving the lady weird looks as she gaped at me. Then this tiny machine next to her spat out a card, and she slid it through the little hole before nodding weirdly at me.

"You have an account balance of 400,000,000. H-have a nice day, Miss." She said wearily, to which I nodded before slowly turning and then gunning it out of the bank.

Wait, was that in the triple digits!?

Oh

My

God.

"I LOVE THE FUTURE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

* * *

"Hey Riri! Guess what happened! I totally wiped the floor with my teacher and-"

Yuma paused in his big display as he saw me sitting on a chair next to my bed. Of course his eyes went from me to the cards splayed orderly around the bed. His red orbs were now gaping holes, along with his mouth, as he stared at the vast number of cards.

"Where'd you get all of these?!" He asked, to which I looked up from the small stack in my hands that I had been shuffling through, and looked at him with a smile.

"Oh, some were from storage that I put away for safe keeping before I, y'know, time traveled," Gosh that sounded weird. "And others I bought today, I figured since I have such a Grandma deck it's about time I made a second deck a bit stronger."

Astral appeared next to Yuma, and looked at the display as well.

"I suppose that's logical," He said as he floated over some of the cards. "Are you going to add this one though?"

When Astral pointed to Slifer, I shrugged. To be honest, controlling Slifer wasn't always easy, and the Dragon was temperamental if I dragged him out when it wasn't necessary. This card was a gift from Atem himself, and I refused to use it without caution. There was a reason he entrusted the Dragon to me, and I knew miss-use was not an option. I'm no living God like Atem, my King, I cannot command a beast like Slifer without guidance.

"Only if I must." I said honestly before continuing to shuffle through my made deck.

"Hey hey Riri, would you mind if I borrowed a card or two?!" Yuma exclaimed in my face, to which my eyes widened before I laughed.

"Sure," I then picked up ten cards I believed would go good with his deck, or what I've seen of it so far. "I suggest these then, because of your Gagaga Magician, and these for your Gogogo monsters." I said, handing them off to him. He jumped around like a five year old then, making me laugh a bit.

After another hour of both of us sorting our decks out, I thought I had mine down pat. Yuma was insistent on dueling, but I didn't think he was ready yet to take me on seriously.

"What?! I beat me teacher today though! That's gotta count as something!" He pouted as I ruffled his hair.

"It sure does, but did Astral help you?" I asked, to which Yuma's face turned pink as Astral hovered next to me. Looking over to him, I saw him nod in confirmation. This made me laugh again as I shook my head.

"When you win a duel without Astral's input whatsoever, I think you'll be more than ready to face me Yuma, okay? Until then, let's both prepare for that day, uh?"

He looked up to me and grinned.

"Alright! I'll be so strong when that day comes, you won't know what hit you!"

He went back to his room shortly after that, Astral following behind him. I tried to go to bed too, but once I was in the dark with the lights off, any fatigue I felt was gone. So I tossed and turned for about an hour, and finally I gave up on sleep. Standing back up, I pulled on some jeans, a bra, and a tank top, along with a sports jacket that I bought all earlier (who wants to switch from their uniform to crappy looking PJs?) before strapping my deck, gazer, and disk (also bought earlier) to my body and slowly opened my door.

Listening for a moment, I heard nothing outside before shuffling my bare feet to reduce noise as I crept through the dark and silent house and to the back door. Flipping my black flats on, I carefully opened the door without making noise, before shutting it behind me again.

Letting out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, I smiled before turning to walk down the street...

...And literally going straight through Astral.

I cupped my mouth to halt the screech that came from my lips as I turned back to Astral.

"What the Hell?! Don't scare me man!" I scolded in a harsh whisper with a slight frown as I wagged a finger at him. He simply stared at me for a moment, before saying something.

"Forgive me, it was not my intent to scare you, I simply wanted to know where you are going." Gosh this guy had such a robotic look to him, it was like he didn't have any life at all.

"Where?" I repeated, come to think of it, where was I going. So I shrugged, and replied. "I'm going to my room."

"I'm not sure I understand, didn't you just come from your room?" Astral asked as her gave me a puzzled look, making me giggle.

"Well yeah, and now I'm going back, but you see, darling Astral, I know where I'm going, but I don't know how I'm getting there." I said, making him even more confused, probably, so I continued to explain.

"I could ride a three headed dragon up there, or maybe I could fly in with some exotic bird, or maybe I'll be beamed up to some alien space ship and after a while they'll put me back there. You get it now?"

To my surprise, he actually nodded and gave a small fragment of a smile.

"I understand. You know your destination, but there are many ways to get back there. It is my understanding you wish to wander the city for a while, and then return to your room. Is that correct?"

I beamed at him, and had I not been able to go through him, I would've ruffled his hair.

"Atta boy! You figured it out!" I then realized the sound level was rising, and physically ducked as though a shoe would hit me in the face. "Anyway, I'm gunna walk around until I feel sleepy, can you hold down the fort while I'm gone?" I asked, and despite probably not understanding what I meant, Astral nodded anyways. I smiled to him over my shoulder as I turned around.

"Thank you Astral."

Then I was gone.

* * *

It's funny, walking through this city at night brought back memories of the good ol' days.

I remembered the nights Atem and I would take walks through the city. We would talk about anything he could remember, anything I could remember. Sometimes I wished I was more of a help to him, anything to keep his attention for just a second longer. However, at the time, I had barely a fragment of my past life, had the Ishtars not confirmed it, I would've believed it to all be a fairytale.

Cars where still traveling down the street beside me as I walked. Not many people were out anymore, most were trying to get home, or to a party probably. I ignored it all as I made my way tot he harbor. I had stumbled across it on a different wandering adventure when I decided to skip class (kids stared at me strangely when I couldn't solve easy questions, guess that's what you get for dropping out when you're in middle school...) and to be honest, I found the view of the dark waters to be quite beautiful.

I sat down on the docks, digging my hands into my coat pockets, the one down side was it was bloody well freezing outside. I sighed a little as I stared out into the nothingness, no boats were moving from their spots, and the waves were rhythmic in my ears as I zoned out.

My body trembled a little bit, but not from the cold. I remembered everything I had been through, I had done it all with my friends. There wasn't a single time I hadn't done something and a friend wasn't involved. Even in my first life, I had bent over backwards for Atem, I wonder if he ever realized that. Keh, guess it doesn't matter now though, he's chosen death over freedom. Or maybe he's got the right idea, as they say, death is the ultimate freedom.

However, my mind kept on replaying that dream, the one that brought me here. Yuma had told me he had a freaky dream about a door opening, and these two beings flying at him. Were those two creatures myself and Astral? In my dream, I had begged to go anywhere, anywhere I could get away from Bakura, had that gate been the exit from my time zone, or had I simply been resting in there since my time? Also, those memories, those glimpses of life, had those been Astral's memories? How did he lose them, and where did they go? More importantly, how do we retrieve them? Perhaps speaking with Astral and Yuma about the subject in the morning might enlighten me.

I sighed once more, pinching the bridge of my nose, damn that was too much thinking.

"Hey you!"

Huh?

Looking up, I saw a guy standing at the other end of the dock.

"What?" I asked, though I wasn't very pleased at my predicament. The guy pointed to me and grinned wickedly.

"I've got this awesome card I want to use! So I challenge you to a duel!" He exclaimed, and for a moment I thought of refusing. Instead though, I thought about it. This would be a good time to see if my deck was as good as I thought it was. Why not?

"Firstly, it's very rude to point. And secondly," I smirked before standing up and facing him. "Game on."

* * *

Hart looked out over the city from his room, and he wondered what it was like to walk around below. Had he ever done it before? Had he liked it? These questions remained unanswered as he stared hollowly. He didn't move when he heard the floor open up either, not even when he knew his brother was there.

"Kite." Was all he said.

"Hey Hart," His big brother said, smiling down at his younger brother, but he could see the expression on Hart's face through the reflection of the glass and forced his smile a little bit more as he walked closer. "Want to play a game or something?" Kite asked, though he had a feeling Hart wouldn't do anything but stare out the window, like he did everyday.

"I'm not sure, what games do I like?" Hart asked, honestly curious. "I don't remember liking games. Did I like them?"

"Sure you did," Kite said with a light laugh. "You loved adventure games the most. Ones like Hide and Seek were your favorite." Kite said as he stopped beside his brother. Looking up, Hart gazed into his brother's eyes, his own wide and crazed, he wondered what Kite thought of him looking like this.

However, before they could say anymore, Orbital 7 came up the elevator.

"Master Kite! Master Kite! We just located another Number!" The robot cried, to which Kite grimaced. He didn't want to leave, not yet, so instead he knelt next to his little brother and turned him to face Kite head on.

"I'll be back in a little while, and then I'll show you all the games you loved to play, alright?"

"Okay." Was all Hart said, before Kite stood up and left the room with Orbital 7.

'Hart,' Kite thought numbly. 'I'll get your cure, don't worry.'

* * *

"Now attack! Take the rest of his life points!" I called, and watched as the warbling 100 life points were stolen from the guy. He shouted and cursed, but ultimately fell over and literally collapsed.

Scratching my head, I felt a little bit of sweat roll down my face.

"Uh, that's being a bit dramatic, don't you think?" Yet the guy didn't answer me. Shrugging it off, I put my stuff away and walked over. After poking him, I confirmed he was out cold. I sighed, but before I could do anything about the unconscious body, my necklace glowed.

The small triangle lit up, the Eye of Anubis shining brightly, along with the matching eye on my forehead. What was it telling me? Was there unwanted darkness in this man's soul? I remembered the time Atem had banished darkness from other's minds before, and wondered if that was what I was meant to do.

Reaching over his heart, I did as Atem had done, I filtered out the darkness and pulled it from his body. What came out, however, was a big surprise. It was a card, but not a card I had seen before. Another distinctive feature was the number before the name. I remembered Utopia, and the number 39. Could this be like Utopia? If so, then how many of these cards were there? Was this a suite, or some rare card? My curiosity spiked big time then.

"Number 13, huh?" I put the card in the case containing Slifer, this should probably go to Yuma and Astral, maybe they knew what it was. I stood up and tried to figure out what to do with the guy. I scratched my head for a moment, before something dawned on me. Looking up, I noticed the problem.

Waves don't just sit there like that.

I could see the individual splashes of water flipping up, completely frozen as though time had stopped.

The Hell?

To top it off, I heard a rather strange whistle tune as well. Footsteps soon followed, and I looked to the staircase, two figures were approaching me. A man, who didn't look much older than myself, and a small robot both made their way towards me.

"Nothing like seeing a boy and his robot." I muttered, annoyed. What ever happened to animals? Y'know, the cute (sometimes), cuddly (sometimes), adorable little guys that just kind of took up space with cuteness?

I stood tall and dropped both my hands into my pockets. Who the Hell was this guy, and why was he here?

"Who the Hell are you and what have you done?" I asked sharply, if this guy is the one that stopped time, he must have some sort of mystical power. I faintly thought of Bakura for a second, but it flitted away.

No way Bakura would let a robot follow him around like a dog. He'd beat the shit out of it before that happened.

"Things aren't frozen really, they're just moving at 1/10,000th of a second." The man said, making me frown a bit. What a smart ass.

"That's because of the special dueling field I've created!" The little robot added in. I rolled my eyes, Giant Duel Monsters, Litter Bots, floating glow sticks, I wouldn't be surprised by anything happening now.

"Yeah," I said flatly. "Of course you did, jeez you guys go over the top!" I said as I face palmed and shook my head.

"That's not all that's special about this field, only people with number cards can roam freely here, which means we're going to battle for said number right now!"

The number card? The one I just got? Why did he want it? Nevertheless, I got a bad feeling about this guy.

"Thanks bud, but I'll pass." I said, waving my arm before turning away from him and walking away. Or at least I tried, but something pulled me back. I stumbled as I faced him, my eyes wide. "What the Hell?" I growled, but the guy just smirked.

"We're locked together now, nobody's going anywhere!" The man said with a wicked grin, and I frowned when he tried to tug me again.

"You little shit, do you have any idea who you're messing with?" I growled out again. "But fine, if you're that big on picking a fight with me, I accept." With that said, I flipped on my D-Gazer, opened my Duel Disk, and set my deck.

"Let's duel!"

* * *

_Ending Theme Song_

_"The World Calling"- __There For Tomorrow__  
_

* * *

Well, even though I only got 3 reviews, I think I'm gunna keep going. It would make my day though if people did review, you don't have to be registered on the site, just go down below and type in a random name and your review.

Anyway, so the plot thickens! Hahaha, I hope you guys like Riri, she's a quirky character I came up with. I hope she's not overly Mary Sue (maybe a little...?) because I try really hard to make real people.

So, if you feel like blessing me with a smile, please leave a comment below.

_Cheers!_

~Kiwi-chan~


	5. Chapter 5

ENJOY!

* * *

**_~UNIVERSAL_**~

* * *

_"Slip Through Time"_

_Kite x OC x Astral_

_Yu-gi-oh __© Kazuki Takahashi_

_Universal __© Sokuryokudo Kyoutendouchi_

* * *

_~Opening Theme~_

"_Blue Bird__- Ikimono Gakari_"_  
_

* * *

___**CHAPTER 5  
**_

___"Late Night Wanderers"  
_

* * *

"We're locked together now, nobody's going anywhere!" The man said with a wicked grin, and I frowned when he tried to tug me again.

"You little shit, do you have any idea who you're messing with?" I growled out again. "But fine, if you're that big on picking a fight with me, I accept." With that said, I flipped on my D-Gazer, opened my Duel Disk, and set my deck.

"Let's go!"

He laughed before throwing his arms open.

"Oh yeah? Well I doubt you know who _you're_ messing with!" My eye twitched as his clothes turned white, and he threw his duel disk in the air before catching it. His left eye being covered by some sort of blue tattoo as well, and his once blue iris turning red.

"Go! Photon Transformation!"

Nope, not surprised.

"Hmph, changing your wardrobe won't win you the duel, kid." I muttered, before lowering my stance in preparation.

"There's no escape now Little Girl," I couldn't help but wince at that name as he looked down at his hand and smirked. "But just to make you feel a bit better, why don't I let you go first."

"How kind of you." I sneered, before looking down at my hand and then drawing my first card. Okay, there wasn't any need to go big, I need to know what kind of deck he uses before I start dishing out the big shits, so I better just play it safe for now.

"I'll set Dragonic Guard in Defense mode, and then I'll set three cards face down and end my turn."

"That's it? Fine! I draw! And first I'll activate the spell card Photon Veil from my hand. With this card, I can place 3 Light monsters from my hand in my deck, and add 3 Light monsters from my deck to my hand."

Ugh, great, so now he could chose three cards and use them to summon some all powerful monster, huh?

"Next I'll activate the spell card Photo Lead. Which lets me summon one of the monsters I just summoned from my hand in Attack Mode. So I'll go ahead and summon Daybreaker! But the fun doesn't stop there, because Daybreaker's effect allows me to summon another Daybreaker! And guess what? I can activate that ones effect and summon one more!"

Fucking fabulous, not even a single normal summon and he already has three monsters. Although I was hoping for multiple summons, I was hoping at least one would be a normal one.

"Next I'll overlay all three monsters, and build the Overlay Network. With this, I'll summon Number 10: Illumiknight!"

...Shit. 2400 Attack?! Are you kidding me? This guy doesn't mess around at all, but if he's done this, I really won't be surprised if he summons another monster this turn too. In fact I'll be he aims to Xyz summon another monster, hot shots like him don't beat around the bush. To the plus side, I have learned he's very big on using Light attributes. Dammit, it's not like I know all the Light Monsters though!

Thinking is not helping me.

Ugh.

"I'm not done yet." He said.

Fuck me.

"Once per turn, I can use one of Illumiknight's Overlay Units to discard one card from my hand, and draw a new one! Which is when Lightserpent's special ability kicks in. You see when this card goes to the graveyard from my hand, I can special summon it to the field. And now I summon Plasma Ball."

Finally, a normal summon, at least my Guard isn't just sitting there picking daisies.

"And now I Overlay my Plasma Ball and Lightserpent to build the Overlay Network! Now I can summon Number 20: Giga-Brilliant!"

Lovely, y'know I think picking daisies might've been a better idea now.

"Now, I use Giga-Brilliant's special ability! By using one Overlay Unit, I can raise it's attack by 300! Now go! Giga-Brilliant! Attack Dragonic Guard!"

"Hmph, nice try, but I activate a trap! I use the Trap Card: D2 Shield! This card doubles the Defense points of one defense position monster on my side of the field!" I smirked as his giant ant attempted to take down my Guard, but it rebounded.

"Too bad for you, 3600 defense points really hurts when you only have 2100 attack points! That's 1500 points of damage!" I said as the guy scowled at me, but he smirked too anyways.

"Not bad for a girl, alright I'll end my turn. Let's see what other tricks you've got up your sleeve."

"Oh trust me," I said as I drew a card. "I have many!" Glancing at it, I instantly knew a plan.

"You like to go big huh? Alright, I'll go big too! First, I activate my trap card Limitless Supply! This allows me to draw until have six cards in my hand. Then I'll use Polymerization to fuse my monsters together! I bring you Meteor Black Dragon! Next I summon Ancient Dragon in attack mode!"

I loved the look on the dude's face when he saw my strategy, oh just wait Mister, the fun has yet to truly begin.

"Next, I'll set one card, now my Meteor Black Dragon! Attack his puny ant!" It wasn't even a match as my dragon beat the crap out of the ant. "Unfortunately my monster isn't a number, but that doesn't matter! You still take damage from my dragon's 3500 attack, meaning you lost another 1400."

1100 life points down in just two turns, I think I might actually stand a chance. Ah Hell, even if I don't, I just had to piss him off. SO I cupped my ear and leaned as though I was trying to hear him while I smirked.

"What's that? No sexist comment now? Aww I wonder why?" I laughed at the intense look on his face. "Nice try man, but you're not taking me down without the duel of your life!"

"Hey! Don't talk to Master Kite like that! You've no right young lady!" The little robot shouted, making me smirk. So his name's Kite, is it? Hmm, definitely not familiar, yet I had a feeling it will be popping up in conversation a lot more between me and Yuma or Astral.

"I end my turn, and because I did with less than 6 cards in my hand, I can draw until I do, thanks to Limitless Supply." I said, to which Kite scowled before drawing.

"Beginners luck I suppose," He looked at his card. "But it's about the run out. I play Pot of Greed so that I can draw two cards!" He looked at his cards, and the smirk couldn't be bigger.

"Next, I sacrifice both my monsters to summon forth my ultimate beast! Say hello to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Kite shouted as his monster materialized. It began at some weird T, but Kite threw it up in the air and different beams of light connected together to form the shape of a monster.

The giant dragon roared at me as it's skin glowed and its wings flapped.

"Nice try Kite, but it only has 3000 attack points, my dragon has 3500, what now?" I remarked, but Kite didn't seem worried at all.

"Next I'll attack your Ancient Dragon, time to say bye bye to 1600 life points!" I winced as the giant dragon crushed my weaker one, especially when my life points went down.

Hey wait, that...that actually hurt. I clutched my chest, not understanding why it hurt so bad. This feels just like a Shadow Duel, but, I never anted my soul. Was it some kind of gimmick? If I lose, do I lose my soul?

This...this is not good.

At least I still had 2400 life points left, Kite only had 1100, so if I could just hold on a little longer...

"I set one card face down, and I guess I could end my turn, now let's see what you've got."

I growled, he was trying to goad me! The little shit head! I'll crush him!

"Alright, I draw!" Looking down at my cards, I knew a plan before I even began to think about one. It was so obvious what to do.

"Now my dragon! Attack Galaxy-Eyes!" Yet I didn't miss the smirk on Kite's face.

"I activate my trap card! Lumenize! You see when you attack my dragon, I can negate the attack, and add attack points equal to the stopped attack. Now my dragon has 6500 attack points!"

My eyes widened.

Oh...shit.

Looking down at my hands, I immediately went into defensive mode.

"You ass, fine. I play the magic card De-Fusion! This lets me put my Meteor Black Dragon back into my fusion deck, and summon all material monsters involved in the fusion. Come on out! I play Red Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor Dragon in defense mode!"

Okay Riri, focus. His monster has 6500 attack points, but it's okay, you've been this royally screwed before, you just need to figure out a way to get around his monster, but he's probably expecting that. I've got just one turn before he can attack, but I've got two monsters in defense, so that's not the problem, it's when he summons another big monster like last time!

"Are you going to make a move or forfeit?" Kite taunted, to which I growled and screamed.

"Shut it! You should never make a woman hurry!" I scolded before looking back at my hand. "Alright then, I set one card in defense mode and one card face down, and then I'll end my turn then, which means I gain another card." I muttered. As long as Widespread Ruin is on the field, I don't have any worries. That card will destroy the attacking monster, leaving me a wide open gap to win.

However, Kite seemed to know my plan, as his smirk grew when he drew a card.

"I summon Photon Cerberus in attack mode! And when this little doggy gets off it's leash, you can't use your trap cards at all this turn!"

WHAT?!

"Next I activate my face down card! Dragon's Rage! Now everytime Galaxy-Eyes attacks a defense position monster, the difference between it's attack points and your defense points is deducted from your life points!"

Which means he only has to attack once, and it's lights out for me!

"Now, Galaxy-Eyes! Attack her Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

Was this it?

The end of the line after years of dancing on the edge?

Was I really going to go out, not able to do anything at all? That image of the destroyed world, the strange voice that called to me, was it all going to be over right here and now? Would I really lose my soul if I lost? Did I really want to find out?

No.

"I activate my monster's effect!" I called, to which Kite looked confused, making me smirk.

"When you call an attack, I can activate Battle Fader's special ability. This allows me to summon it to the field, which ends your battle phase."

"Well I guess you're lucky then, because I end my turn. But don't worry, my Dragon's not going anywhere." Kite said, making me shiver. Okay, I guess there's really only one option here then. I really was opting against this, but there doesn't seem to be a way out.

"I draw," Oh, what luck, guess I get to live another day. "I guess my Guard isn't doing much work this duel, oh well." I said under my breath, my hope was to bring back Ancient Dragon, but I guess instead I'll have to do this.

"I guess I'll set three cards and end my turn." I muttered as I collected my cards back to 6, to which Kite smirked again.

"Well then, I guess I'll draw a card," He smirked this wickedly evil smile. "This is the end, I summon another Photon Cerberus, so now you can't use your traps cards again!" I growled at this, this guy was way too smart.

"Now my Dragon, attack her Red Eyes Black Dragon! And win me her Number Card!" Kite shouted as he pointed at me. His dragon closed in on me, and I began to smirk.

"Don't you know it's rude to point?" I asked, to which Kite's eyes widened a bit, so I waved my hand. "I activate my spell card! Emergency Provisions, so by sending 3 trap or spell cards on my side of the field to the graveyard, I can gain 3000 life points! Which gives me just enough to skim by your dragon's attack! The Dragon's attack is 6500, subtract Red-Eyes' 2000 defense makes 4500, subtract 4500 from 5400 life points gives me just 900 life points left.

Kite growled at this, he obviously didn't see it coming. I wiped my sweaty brow, and wheezed a little bit at the pain of the strike. That was way too fucking close for comfort.

"I'll end my turn then." However, before I could say anything, Kite butted in. "You're not bad, for a girl, but how much longer can you keep this up? I have plenty of numbers I could summon, all in my next turn, so I'd be careful if I were you, because your Number Card and soul are going to be mine."

I glowered at him, my eyes flickering to my trap card momentarily, then I full on stared at him.

"What's your game? Why are you collecting these cards? What purpose could they hold for you?" I asked, even though I didn't expect a straight forward answer. Kite grimaced as though I had struck a small nerve, to which he simply replied.

"It doesn't concern you! Now on with the duel or you forfeit!" He said as he swung his arm to make his voice final. I frowned and glowered a little bit at this.

"Wow, why are you so moody. I mean I just asked a question, buuut if you insist. I draw!" I looked at my card, before sighing. "I guess there's no way around it then, and I was hoping to wipe the floor with you. Man!" I said as I shook my head, but Kite seemed irritated by my banter.

"What?" He asked, well more like barked at me. I sighed, before sweeping my hand up.

"I activate Ring of Destruction."

Kite eyes widened then in realization, and I sighed.

"If only you hadn't summoned that second mutt, I could've used my Emergency provisions and still had enough points to just barely survive." I sighed, well maybe not, but I think I'd only be off by 100 or so.

"I attach my ring to Galaxy-Eyes! Now we both take damage equal to his attack, bringing us both to 0. That means it's a draw." I said flatly, despite my wincing from the pain of the attack.

Kite, on the other hand, looked ready to absolutely destroy me. Well, if I can't win, I sure as Hell would rub this in his face then.

"Aw what's the matter? Never been in a draw before? Am I the first?" I laughed really hard and really fake, just to piss him off. "Look man, it's just a card, I don't see any lives on the line here-"

"Shut up!" Kite growled, making my eyes widen. He looked like if I came in arms length of him he'd tear me apart. I gulped, not sure what to do or say.

"Uh, Master Kite! We should fall back and regroup! Right? There are other Number Cards to gather!" The robot said, though he seemed shaken.

"M-Master Kite?" The robot said after a moment of silence.

"I heard you Orbital." Kite said, before looking over at me. "It seems I found myself a worthy opponent," Then he smirked again at me. "Next time won't be so easy for you, Rival."

"My name is Raikari smart ass. I expect you to call me as such." I said with a smirk. Kite watched me for a moment, before turning away.

"Orbital." Was all he said before the tiny robot scurried after him, talking about how amazing Kite was and I was just having major beginner's luck. I smiled at that, they actually looked adorable together. Once they were out of sight, I turned to look back out to the water. With a smile, I watched it for a few more minutes, before I realized the sky was getting lighter.

"OH MY GOD! I NEED TO BE UP IN A FEW HOURS!" Instantly, I began to run back to Yuma's home, and pray for a few hours to at least rest my eyes.

Kite is it? Hm, you may prove to be the most interesting duelist I've encountered so far.

Oh shit, school starts in an hour.

I'm so screwed.

* * *

_Ending Theme Song_

_"The World Calling"- __There For Tomorrow__  
_

* * *

Okay, I think I'm all done for a bit, IDK how I'm gunna cover 30 episodes when I really want to skip ahead to episode 40! Anyway, hope you guys like it!

And I also hope you realize it was a bitch to make this duel end in a draw. I was searching step by step how to get there, ugh.

So, if you feel like blessing me with a smile, please leave a comment below.

_Cheers!_

~Kiwi-chan~


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